Lone Survivor, The Movie: Go See It!
BY Herschel Smith
10 years, 10 months ago
Since it isn’t my story, I won’t wax on about the story Marcus Luttrell wanted to tell about his brothers in Operation Red Wings.
But it is the most intense movie I have ever seen. By the end of the movie I was left virtually breathless and teary eyed. In an age of horrible movies from Hollywood, this one is well worth the money.
Two sidebar notes on the movie. First, the cinematography is some of the best and most intense I have ever experienced. You are quite literally there. The initial five minutes or so of the close action scenes and rapid camera movement took some getting used to, but after that, it became obvious what the producers and directors were doing.
Second, the movie is very close to what Marcus intended and what he wrote in the book. There is a bit of Hollywood drama introduced into the story, but not much, and not significant.
Review: I cannot tell the story – Marcus has to. It is his to tell, and he does his brothers proud with this movie. It will take its place alongside the best war movies, and perhaps it is the very best of all time. Go see it.
On January 11, 2014 at 4:50 pm, paul b said:
Ok. I did kind of wonder about how MW would come off in the movie and then I caught part of a plug on the talk, I did not expect good things.
I will try to catch it soon.
On January 11, 2014 at 5:21 pm, Herschel Smith said:
I recommend it highly, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
On January 13, 2014 at 2:35 pm, Ron said:
Only positive comments supporting your view are printed?
On January 13, 2014 at 3:07 pm, Herschel Smith said:
There is plenty of back and forth here. Many comments have been posted disagreeing with my own take on things, as long as the disagreement is respectful and thoughtful.
But the comments have to be on point. Making comments about the reasons for the conflict (or lack thereof) were not on point. They weren’t germane to the post. Go back and read stuff I wrote five or six years ago. This is a movie review. You want to debate the reasons for war and make accusatory remarks about the military? Go do it at Daily Kos among the other idiots.
I no longer allow comments from folk who live in the past, ten years ago, and who still want to debate why such-and-such a mission, campaign or war was undertaken. That’s all water over the dam.
Besides, I am going to vomit the next time I see some moron invoke the overused, sophomoric phrase “military-industrial complex.”
On January 13, 2014 at 8:24 pm, James H. said:
I wonder if Eisenhower himself really knew what he referred to (tho he’s often taken out of context). The frequent reference to this vague thing …. anyhow. (They never offered me any money! )
I respect Eisenhower as a war leader, but he took some very odd positions as president — especially a supposedly “conservative” Republican president.
On January 14, 2014 at 7:42 am, slobyskya rotchikokov said:
The firefight was as realistic as anything I’ve seen since the prolonged gut-wrenching scene in ‘We Were Soldiers” which left my palms a bit sweaty, and possibly ‘Blackhawk Down’.. So many Hollywood films make the gunfighting a three minute episode and then move on. Real life does not follow a time limit, and you have to identify with the incredible strength and fortitude of the warriors who fight on even when it seems that the battle will never, ever end.